In May of 1948, the nation state of Israel declared itself as a geopolitical entity.

I will briefly and intentionally oversimplify the historical factors which led to that declaration.

Prior to the United Nations Resolution 181(II) in 1947, the region of Palestine was under the administration of the government of the United Kingdom. This was the mandate of the League of Nations following World War 1.

The 1947 Resolution apportioned just over half of the land mass to Jewish “Israel” and just under half to Arab “Palestine”.

War immediately ensued. Of course it did.

I am not here to comment on the ongoing conflict between Arabs and Israelis.

I am, however, here to offer a Biblical perspective on the current state of affairs, particularly because there is a lot of confusion offered to Christians about how they should regard the modern nation state of Israel.

Israel Prior to Jesus Christ

Let’s first understand what “Israel” meant during the period described by the Hebrew Scriptures, what we commonly refer to as the “Old Testament”.

Israel was the name God gave to Jacob in Genesis 32. Jacob had just survived his famous wrestling match with God.

The name “Israel” is a combination of two Hebrew words. The “-el” ending is a shortened form of the word “God”, and it can be found in many Hebrew names like Daniel, Joel, and Elizabeth.

Those just happen to be, by the way, the three names given to me and my siblings. Shout out to mom and dad!!!

The other half of the name Israel comes from the Hebrew word “sarah” which means “to persevere”, or “to assert oneself”.

That’s why, in Genesis 32, God says to Jacob, “Your name will be Israel, for you have “asserted yourself with God and with man” and have prevailed.

Jacob ends up having twelve sons by four different women. These became the 12 tribes of Israel.

That’s where Old Testament Israel comes from.

But what about their land?

For that, we need to flip back a few chapters to Genesis 28.

There, in verse 13, Jacob encounters God in a dream. God promises that Jacob and his offspring will inherit the land on which Jacob was currently sleeping.

Combine that verse with a few others and you have the Old Testament promise that the “land of Canaan” is to become the land of Israel.

But God was not done making promises in Genesis 28.

God also revealed His plan to bless the entire world through Jacob’s offspring (a reiteration of His promise to Abraham in Genesis 12).

What is more, God promised that “until I have done all that I have promised”, He would not “leave” Jacob and his offspring. Hang on to this idea, it’s important.

God’s promise of land was tied to His promise to bless the world through Jacob’s offspring.

And that promise was lock-tight until God had made good on it.

You likely know all of the Old Testament stories about how Israelites (that is what we call Old Testament offspring of Israel) sometimes occupied that land, and at other times were exiled from it.

If you know those stories, then you know that God never “left” the Israelites.

Israel In Jesus Christ

By the time the New Testament rolls around, the Israelites have been through a lot.

As a people, they are now being referred to as “Jews”, because the main population of remaining Israelites happened to be from the tribe of Judah.

Judah was an important son of Jacob.

It was through Judah that God would fulfill his promise to Jacob - the promise to bless the whole world.

It was through Judah that David would be born and eventually become King.

It was through Judah that Zerubbabel would rule in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.

And it was through Judah that Jesus was born into the world.

Through Jesus, God blessed the entire world.

Jesus became the entire Old Testament Word and Promise. 

Jesus is “Israel” in One Person.

By becoming the sacrificial “lamb” of God who takes away the sins of the world, Jesus accomplished the promise God had made to Jacob.

Jesus blessed the world.

The death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth in the 1st Century AD meant that God had completely redefined what it meant to be “Israel”.

This is what Paul is getting at in our Romans quote at the top of this essay.

Israel After Jesus Christ

In the years following the New Testament, the term “Israel” no longer applies to the offspring of Jacob. Again, this is the point of the Romans quote above. Reread it.

After all, God’s promise to Jacob was “until I have done all I have promised”.

He had given Jacob a multitude of offspring. Check.

He had returned Israel to Jerusalem. Check.

And, through Jacob (in Jesus), God had blessed all the families of the world. Check.

So after the resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament, the term “Israel” takes on a brand new meaning!

When Jesus dies, Israel dies. When Jesus rises from the dead, a brand new Israel is born.

In Ephesians 2, Paul tells non-Jews that during the Old Testament days they were apart from God. This is consistent with the promises of Genesis which applied specifically to Israelites.

He goes on to say that through faith in Jesus, everyone who believes has “been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.”

And in Galatians 6:16, Paul calls the Christian Church the “Israel of God”.

The sacrificial atonement made by Jesus Christ has completely redefined the “qualifications” for being called “Israel”.

While the Old Testament people of “Israel” were genealogically related to ancient Jacob, New Testament “Israel” is defined by faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of God.

And New Testament Israel, that is “Biblical Israel”, is not given a “land” to occupy, they are told to go into all the earth and make more “disciples” (“Israelites”!!!).

And to nobody’s surprise, Jesus Himself promises the Christian Church that He will never leave them! Wow!

Israel Today

Which brings us back to the nation state of 1948 Israel.

Members of the 1948 nation called “Israel” are not called “Israelites”, they are called “Israelis”.

An Israeli is not a Biblical designation, it is a geopolitical one, and Israel of 2024 is not a Biblical nation, they are a geopolitical nation.

Israel's claim on the land around Jerusalem is not a Biblical claim, it is a geopolitical one.

I am not here to argue about modern Israel’s claim of land. But since you asked, I’ll gladly say that I support the 1948 borders.

That’s my understanding of 1 Timothy 2, and I wrote all about it in a previous blog post.

But I do not support modern Israel’s land claim based on any Bible verse or Bible history or Bible genealogy.

To suggest that modern Israel has a Biblical claim on Jerusalem is to misunderstand the Bible.

Christians and Modern Israel

How should Christians respond to the ongoing war between Israelis and Arabs?

Answer: the same way Christians should respond to any war between any warring peoples.

The Bible does not require Christians to support the 1948 nation state of Israel any more than it requires us to support Ukraine or Russia or even the United States of America.

Christians should examine every war through the lens of justice.

We do not like war and we want peace. 

We always and only take the side of "justice", which is to defend the defenseless, to advocate for victims, and to prosecute the perpetrators of injustice. These become our prayers and our actions.

If Christians want to take a side in any war, we might consider our own citizenship as Americans. 

If we agree that the American concerns in a given war are ethical and just, then we "take sides" with our government. If we disagree with the American concerns in a given war, then we speak up against those Americans who are encouraging that war; and if we are convicted strongly enough that a war is unjust then we may conscientiously object. 

Peaceful protest may even become an instrument in communicating our opinions as Christians in the public sphere.

Christians should be on the “front lines” of providing aid to victims of war regardless of their nationality, and advocating for whatever position results in quelling injustice and bringing about true peace.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, God of Israel, give peace to the warring nations in our world. Give wisdom and understanding to our nation's rulers and magistrates so that the policies of our land will reflect your will. Raise the voice of your Church so that the name of Jesus will be known everywhere as the only name given among mankind by which we are saved. Amen.